1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for the installation of floors, walls, ceilings, and any surface formed from a plurality of panels, and more particularly to a system of aligning the panels to provide a uniform and even finished surface regardless of thickness variations from panel to panel.
2. Disclosure Statement
Systems for installing walls, floors, ceilings, etc., from a plurality of panel members must enable the panel members to be formed into a uniform surface for aesthetic and functional purposes and must enable the individual panel members to be tightly secured to the support surface, regardless of the thickness variations which may exist from panel to panel. An example of a system for forming walls from a plurality of panels is U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,904, issued Nov. 8, 1977, to Dawdy, which discloses a system for temporarily holding panels of wallboard against support studs with adhesive therebetween, including an elongate semi-rigid rod removably affixed at one end of the stud, the other end projecting out from between the edges of two adjacent wall boards, and a retainer plate engaging the rod and pressing the wallboards against the stud, the engagement of the plate with the rod being such that the rod prevents the plate from moving away from the wallboard until removal is desired. Another system for alignment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,683, issued May 24, 1977, to Kilian, wherein a fixing clamp having a rear plate and a front plate are used to form a free standing wall of tiles. The tiles are connected with the wall by pouring mortar or any other attaching material behind the tiles. The plates of the fixing clamp can include spring members for supporting the tiles if, as a result of tile thickness inaccuracies, some of the tiles are not as thick as the distance between the two plates of the fixing clamp. U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,587, issued Mar. 14, 1967, to Gilroy et al, discloses a bowling alley board adjustor which is applied to repair a bowling alley that comprises a depression in several of the boards used to form the surface of the bowling alley, the worn boards being lifted up from their support surface and then sanded uniform with the remaining alley surface. None of the above patents, however, discloses the method of the present invention whereby a plurality of panels are applied to a support surface and attached thereto by an adhesive, cement, etc., and which are aligned to form an even and uniform finished surface, even though thickness variations may exist from panel to panel.